Gyrotonic Fit Re-Opens Virtual and Riverside

Gyrotonic Fit Re-Opens Virtual and Riverside

by | Jun 22, 2020 | Uncategorized

The first half of 2020 was a flow of transitions and deep movements. We have simultaneously slowed down and stayed inside while also birthing a new level of deep movement outward for social and racial justice. 

And now we move through the Summer Solstice, a celebration of the return to light that reminds us of the light within us as well as our united light.  This year I feel the important call do go deeper into our awareness of how we are fundamentally interconnected and interdependent with one another.  Our health is interconnected, and our well being as a society depends on our ability to honor and value our interconnection and our fundamental equality. 

I think I will call this year the “Return to Light” because that is what is has felt like so far. In our studio, the pandemic and the need for social distancing brought us inside our homes and our client’s homes as we shifted our movement coaching online.  We did not know how things would go, but we stayed connected to our guiding light. Our goal is always to help our clients live their lives in a deeper state of balance, clarity, peace and inner alignment so they can live and create their lives with purpose. 

We have done the same in our daily lives, looking for the opportunities that these challenging circumstances have offered to come back to what feeds us in our lives- nature, love and community.

In our studio, the pandemic and the need for social distancing brought us inside our homes and our client’s homes as we shifted our movement coaching online. Transitioning to coaching online ended up being even more successful than we could have expected, and many of our clients prefer the convenience and new level of instruction and focus as we have experimented with new approaches and techniques. In our sessions, we use Gyrokinesis, meditation, embodiment coaching and our corrective exercise protocols to shift chronic pain points, relieve stress and tension in the body, and create clarity and alignment in mind and body.  

After three months of working successfully virtually, and still amid a pandemic, we decided that we wanted to continue to invest and grow the virtual model and let go of our studio space in mid-town Atlanta. We have been at our Briarcliff location for four years now and in that general area for over eight years. During this time, I have grown my coaching practice to include business and life coaching as well as Gyrotonic Movement, and I have wanted to explore a virtual model to create greater freedom of location, and new opportunities.

And it looks like now is the time!

So as Gyrotonic Fit re-opens, we are re-opening at our Riverside home studio and virtually. At this time, I am open to working with new clients Virtually for Gyrotonic and Gyrokinesis Movement Coaching and Business Coaching for Movement Professionals who want to leverage their work. I will also continue to conduct Gyrotonic and Gyrokinesis Educational Courses, which will start again in the fall.

If you are interested in Virtual Gyrotonic Private Sessions or Business Coaching, schedule a time to chat with me HERE=============>

David continues to offer movement, neuromuscular, and craniosacral therapy in our home studio. And we have some new opportunities to work with us both virtually coming down the pipeline in July! So stay tuned!

We are excited to continue to grow and expand our business in new ways that inspire healing through movement and serve to create a movement of empowered embodiment and visionary leadership.

 

Sending love and gratitude from the river~

Dawn 

 

 

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3 Embodiment Exercises to Start Your Self-Care Practice

3 Embodiment Exercises to Start Your Self-Care Practice

by | May 27, 2020 | Embodied Wellness, Embodiment, Restorative Exercise

Hey there, it’s Dawn.

I’m back to talk a little bit more about embodiment tools and the three embodiment pillars that are foundational to my view of embodiment.

The three pillars of my approach to embodiment are:
1) Grounding into your body
2) Focusing on breathing
3) Using intentional movement

To help you understand how these pillars work together, I want to do a simple exercise that brings them into focus. The first thing you want to do is find a place to sit where you can ground your feet down into the floor, so you want to feel like you can sit upright on the edge of your stool, and I’m going to have you close your eyes. I’m going to keep mine open, but go ahead and close them, and I’m just going to lead you through a short body scan. With this awareness, we’re going to do a little breathing, and then I’m going to do a little movement.

Let’s start with the first piece. Go ahead and close your eyes and sit on your stool with your feet flat on the ground. I want you to notice and bring your awareness into your body and start to sense where you are in space. This practice is called a simple body scan. Start by bringing your awareness down to your feet. I want you to feel your feet on the floor and then go ahead and trace up your body with your inner eye.

Take your awareness all the way up through your legs and feel the upper bones of your legs connecting up into your hip sockets. Then go ahead and trace up through your spine and across your chest and down through your arms. You have a sense of your arms just hanging at your sides. Just notice if your body wants to make any adjustments as you bring awareness to it, so you may feel like you’re slumping a little bit. You want to find a little easier, more upright alignment, so make whatever adjustments, bring your body into more of a sense of ease, and an arrangement where you feel like you can take a deep breath.

 

The second piece, we’re going to go right into that breathing. So bring your hands to your belly actually and take a few deep inhales and exhales. With the inhale and exhale, for the first couple of times, I want you to notice where you’re breathing. Notice if you feel like you’re holding your breath in one area of your body or another or if you feel like you can take a deep breath all the way down into your abdomen. You feel like your abdomen area can expand with the inhale and contract with the exhale. If you feel like you’re holding your breath in your shoulders and your breathing is shallow, try to drop and relax your shoulders and bring your awareness down to your belly, so you feel a sense of filling in your abdomen as well as you inhale. Just see if you can start to deepen that breath.

We’re going to do a couple more breaths, and you will focus on the expansion and contraction of the breath. As you inhale, let your body expand. As you exhale, keep exhaling until you have fully emptied out your lungs, and you feel a deep contraction of the lungs. That exhale is going to help to stimulate your parasympathetic nervous system and bring you into a more profound sense of rest and restoration.

To add one last little piece to this- intentional movement. Go ahead and open your eyes. And all we’re going to do is just a simple spiral. So we want to connect that awareness of our breathing and our upright spine, and we’re just going to do a little twist side to side. You will inhale as you twist and exhale as you come back to the center. Using your eyes to look behind you will bring our vision into play and help you integrate your body awareness and your breathing as a foundation for movement,

After you have done a few spirals, close your eyes again, and I want you just to check back in, do a quick little body scan again, and notice if you feel any difference in your body. Do you feel more upright? Do you feel sensations in areas that you may not have felt feeling before? Just notice how you feel. Notice if you’re breathing any more deeply and if you’re more aware of yourself in space. And then open your eyes to finish the exercise.

That’s just a simple way to look at those three layers of the embodiment process. The grounding into your body brings you into sensing your body. The breathing piece starts to bring you into the movement of your body. And the intentional movement piece helps you to connect and use your awareness and your breathing to support the intentional movement of your body.

Embodiment is a tool for health and well being. Intentional movement can help you avoid injury, prevent injury and help you feel great daily, but it also helps you to get into your body and feel empowered in how you’re moving and intentionally being in your body on a daily basis.

So enjoy!

All the best,

Dawn

 

4 Ways To Use Online Tools To Grow Your Business And Serve Your Clients

4 Ways To Use Online Tools To Grow Your Business And Serve Your Clients

by | Apr 25, 2020 | Business Planning, Coaching, Flow, Mompreneur

If you want to grow your body-centered in-person practice, at some point you hit a wall with seeing clients one on one. You only have so many hours in a day and only so many clients you can see in a day.

If you want to grow your body-centered in-person practice, at some point you have to figure out a way to leverage your expertise outside of your one on one time. You can expand horizontally by adding staff and growing the number of clients your business works with one one one. Or you can grow vertically by scaling your expertise.

One of the most organic methods to grow vertically is to begin to systematize your process, utilize online tools to create new tools and resources for your clients, and new income streams for your business. You can use online tools to work virtually one on one or in groups, create products and courses, reach new markets, and establish yourself as an expert in your field. 

There are several ways that you can begin to use online tools to leverage your expertise to reach new clients and further support your existing clients.

1. Create an E-Book– One of the simplest ways to get started leveraging your business online is to package up your expertise into an E-book that you can sell online to create a passive income stream.

2. Create a Virtual Workshop– A virtual workshop is a great way to try out using virtual delivery tools and leverage your one on one time into virtual groups. You can focus on tools and techniques that you already use and put them together in a new way to help your clients learn a new skill or introduce new clients to your work.

3. Create an Online Course– Creating an online course allows you to package up your expertise and sell it online. In an online course, you will package up your knowledge in a way that guides your clients through a process to solve their problems or achieve their goals.

4. Create an Online Membership- If you offer tools or techniques that help your clients with ongoing needs, you can provide a recurring online membership model. In this model, you can have a combination of online content and virtual coaching and instruction. Clients pay you every month, and you continue to add updated content to support them.

All of these options help you leverage your expertise in new ways and start to grow your income and impact outside of your in-person work. So how do you know which one to choose? And what is the first step to get started?

Which model you choose will depend on what you offer and the needs of your clients as well as how much tech set up you want to get started. So your first step is getting clear on the specific needs of your clients, choosing how to apply your expertise online, and choosing the right technology that you would like to use to deliver your online service or product. 

To get started with this, download my FREE Guide below or schedule a strategy session below to pinpoint your top opportunity to start growing your business online.

All the best,

 

Dawn

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My Top Four Studio Models To Limit Your Overhead Risk And Grow Your Business

My Top Four Studio Models To Limit Your Overhead Risk And Grow Your Business

by | Apr 23, 2020 | Business Planning, Coaching, Gyrotonic Movement

Are you considering starting a studio but have some fears about taking on the risk overhead? Or maybe you are considering shifting your studio business model to lower your overhead expenses? 

Owning a studio is a fantastic way to create community space around health and wellness, develop a team to grow your mission, and invest in your business. But overhead vulnerability is also very real. And having a studio space does require taking on financial risk. But the financial risk can be mitigated if you choose your model carefully and align it with your goals. 

There are many ways to limit your financial risk when if you want to start your first studio or if you want to change your current studio model to mitigate your overhead risk while you continue to grow your business. 

I have had at least four different models for my movement therapy practice and coaching practice over the last fifteen years. Now, just a disclaimer, a big studio model was never in alignment for me. My goal with all of my studio models was to create a collaborative space where I could grow my practice, support, and learn from others and minimize my overhead risk while maximizing my resources and profit. So all of the models I suggest are aimed more towards the solopreneur or collaborative space model, but they could also be useful for larger studios.  

So here are the top four models I love for creating and growing a studio without a lot of overhead risk.

1. Renting a space and subletting to other complementary practitioners- In this model, you will have at least one or more other practitioners who want to come on board and make a commitment to sharing the space with you. My first space in Minneapolis was specifically a rental space. I was the one with the name on the lease, but I had several Gyrotonic Instructors, a Pilates Instructor and a Reiki Practitioner helping to pay the rent and creating a community. The benefits of this model are that you can easily cover most of the rent each month, and you get to have a leadership role in creating the look and feel of the space and the community. 

2. Subletting from another Complementary Practitioner or Colleague- In this situation, the roles reverse. Rather than you holding the lease, you are the subletter. Subletting decreases your financial risk and space responsibility, and you get to benefit from the resources of the studio you are renting from and focus on your teaching. The downside of this is, although you have less financial risk, you may often pay more because you can’t offset your fees by renting to others. And in the end, it is not your space, so you have less freedom to create the kind of environment that you like.

3. Bringing your equipment to another studio and getting paid as a contractor- This model is one of my favorites. For years, I had my Gyrotonic Equipment within a physical therapy clinic. I operated as a contractor, but the PT clinic paid me more in exchange for bringing my equipment and adding value to the physical therapy business. The benefits of this were that I had a direct referral source and niche working with their clients. I got to learn a ton of working in an integrative medical care setting, and I was able to benefit from the branding, marketing, and resources in their space. The cons were that I had to fit within their brand and didn’t have a lot of choice about how I wanted my space to look and feel.  

4. The home studio- This may seem like the most straightforward option with the least financial risk, but it also has a lot of drawbacks. It is challenging to market your business and take on new clients because of the vulnerability of brining people you do not know into your home. Also, sometimes it is challenging to create the best experience for the client, depending on how conducive your home life is to creating a studio environment. Also, sometimes the work/home life can get blurred and make it challenging to separate work and home life. I see this model work best with people who have established client bases that they can comfortably bring to their home. And then grow with a slow trickle of referrals from trusted sources. 

So how do you know which model is the right one for you? Which model you choose will depend on your business and income goals, your niche, your comfort with risk, AND your personality. But in the end, whatever you chose, your model can always be changed. In my fifteen years of business, I have changed my studio location and model 5 times, and each evolution has helped me to grow and evolve my business in new ways.

So which one appeals to you the most? Are you looking to start a studio or transition your current one to a new model?

If you want to chat about what your top opportunities are for your new or evolving studio business, schedule a strategy session below!

All the best,

Dawn

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WordPress or Squarespace- How To Choose The Best Website Software For Your Business

WordPress or Squarespace- How To Choose The Best Website Software For Your Business

by | Apr 21, 2020 | Business Planning, Coaching, Flow

 

A website serves many purposes in a business. It is a tool for your customers to find you online, a hub for them to connect to your products and services, a tool for content marketing, and it can even serve as a membership site to build loyal customers in your business.

There are a variety of software options available to serve your business needs at whatever stage you are at with your business. And the top two that I recommend are Squarespace and WordPress. So how do you know which software will best meet your business needs?

I have spent ten years designing websites for my own business and the businesses of my clients, and there are three top questions I have my clients consider when choosing a website software.

My Top 3 Questions to Choose Your Software

 

  1.  Do you want to DIY, hire a web designer, or do a combo (meaning you have someone set it up for you and then show you how to use it)?
  2.  How much upkeep are you willing to do or pay someone to do?
  3. Is it essential for you to have maximum flexibility of design and options for scaling your business website and are you want to get set up for the long game? Meaning…

-Do you want to build out your blog content to gain long term organic search traffic?

-Do you want to have unlimited design possibilities to utilize as you grow?

-Do you want to branch into e-commerce and membership sites without switching to a second platform?

-Do you want to be able to have more than one website without paying for more hosting?

DIYer…

If you are a DIYer and want minimal upkeep and want to get moving with a website without considering potential future needs, you can get started simply with a Squarespace site. Squarespace charges a monthly hosting fee (usually around $20/mo) but gives you ready-made templates to get up and running quickly. You can use Squarespace to get started with blogging and even get started with password-protected pages to use for client resources. The limitations of Squarespace are in the options for developing your design choices, creating a membership site, selling products or services (they charge a fee), and creating multiple sites (you have to pay for hosting for every site).

 

Long Game Growth….

For those who want more long term design options and growth possibilities, WordPress is one of my top choices. WordPress is an open-source software and has endless possibilities for design and growth. With WordPress, you pay for hosting and your domain name and the theme you would like to use, and the software is free. Your hosting account you can be used for more than one website installation, so as your business grows, you can add sites or even hosted pages for specific domain names that you use. With WordPress, you can add e-commerce, membership sites, and it is the best software for optimizing your organic search optimization on your blog.

The negatives with WordPress are that it can have a higher learning curve to get started using it, the software needs to be regularly updated, and you need to make sure you have the right hosting services to protect your site. I have heard a lot of comments over the years on negative experiences with WordPress security. These issues can usually be solved with the right hosting plan, making sure the software is updated and security services.

For WordPress, you want a hosting plan that provides a free SSL for your site, automatic WordPress updates, regular backups, security, and site optimization. My top two choices are Siteground and WPMU. Siteground has some great deals for getting started, and they offer add on services to make sure you monitor your site for security. WPMU service comes with a suite of plugins that keep your site running well and updated automatically! And you can host up to three websites.

If you are going to the WordPress route, I recommend using the Divi theme. It is an easy to use visual builder that you can quickly learn to use yourself. Similar to Squarespace, it comes with hundreds of templates that you can use to get started with a beautiful design quickly.

I have personally used WordPress and the Divi Theme for over ten years, and it has served me well as my business has grown. Using WordPress has provided me unlimited possibilities for design, hosting multiple sites without paying more for hosting, and even starting a membership site.

But if you are looking for a quick way to get started with minimal upkeep, Squarespace is your best bet!

To learn more about getting started online with your business, download my FREE Guide below or schedule a strategy session below to pinpoint your top opportunity to start growing your business online.

All the best,

 

Dawn

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